


Broken Record

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:12:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26490190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Alex accidently breaks Jack's prized possession.
Kudos: 4





	Broken Record

“Dude, I’m so glad you’re spending the night since my parents are out of town. I think there’s an unopened wine bottle in the kitchen that we can drink,” Jack said as he walked into his house with Alex on a Friday afternoon.  
“Oh shit, that sounds really good. Are you sure your parents won’t notice that it’s gone?” Alex asked back.  
“Nah, they have plenty more of it. Besides, if they ask, I’ll just tell them that we were responsible about it, like, we stayed here and didn’t do anything dangerous and stuff,”  
“I guess that’ll work, whatever you think is best, man. Hey, before we start to enjoy our night, should we get some homework done first?”   
“Homework on a Friday? The only activities involving thinking that we should do are songwriting, and playing video games,” Jack stated, as the two of them made their way up to Jack’s room.  
“Well, I know we both have a lot, so I think we should start on it before we go to your basement for the night. Maybe just, like, an hour of work. We can make it fun; we can listen to music while we get it done,” Alex suggested.  
“I don’t think that homework could ever be considered fun, but that does make it sound much more tolerable,”   
The two of them walked into Jack’s room, which was currently quite messy.  
“Dude, it looks like a tornado came through here! Why’s everything so messy?” Alex asked, taking a seat at Jack’s desk.  
“Alex, my parents are out of town, which means that I don’t have anyone bitching at me to keep it clean! Why would I clean it when I don’t have to?” Jack continued, taking a seat on his bed, and pulling some books out of his backpack.  
“You’re sixteen, do you really still need your parents to tell you to clean your room?” Alex laughed as he opened his algebra textbook.  
“Well, no, but it’s kind of fun doing the shit they don’t like while they’re not here to tell me otherwise. Anyway, enough about the state of my bedroom, let’s just get this stupid homework shit over with,”   
The two of them stopped talking, and started to look into their books. Alex got done with a bout half of his math problems, then started to stare off into space some. Normally, he was a fairly diligent worker, but the excitement of the rest of the day, and the fact that it was a Friday, was occupying his mind.   
He looked at the wall between Jack’s bed and desk, which had a signed vinyl of Blink-182’s Take Off Your Pants and Jacket mounted on it. Alex looked at the autographs, tracing the letters with his eyes, until he finally got pulled from his thoughts.  
“Alex, can you help me with something?” Jack asked, sounding frustrated.  
“I can try. What do you need help on?” Alex continued.  
“So, I’m trying to do this system of equations shit, and I keep messing up, because the answer I’m getting isn’t the one that’s on the answer key in the back of the book. I literally have no idea what I’m doing wrong, and I know you’re pretty good with this shit,” Jack explained, scooting over on his bed to make room for his friend.  
“Sure, I’ll come look at it,”   
Alex got up, and started to walk towards Jack’s bed. Once he was almost there, he tripped on one of the many things on Jack’s floor and started to fall. He quickly reached out to the wall to support him, not realizing that his hand was headed straight towards Jack’s autographed album, until it was too late.   
The album fell from its spot and hit the floor, breaking in half. When Alex realized what had happened, his jaw dropped, instantly feeling guilty. He looked over to Jack, who looked both depressed and angry at the same time.  
“Oh my god, Jack. I didn’t mean to- it was an accident-“ Alex stuttered, not sure how to right what he’d just done.  
“What the fuck, Alex?” Jack yelled, starting to look more angry than sad.  
“I’m so sorry, I-“  
“It’s fucking broken, Alex! I can’t fucking fix this!”   
Jack bolted up from his bed, and over to Alex and the album.   
“I’m sure there’s something we can do to put it back together, like-“  
“There’s nothing we can do to fix it, Alex! It’s split in half, right where all of the signatures are! There’s nothing that is going to fix it!”  
“I’ll get you a new one!” Alex offered.  
“I don’t want a new one, I only wanted this one, and you fucked it up!”  
“Jack, listen-“  
“Save it, it’s not going to change anything,” Jack snapped, going back over to his bed with his split record.   
Alex still felt very bad for what had just happened, but he started to get frustrated at Jack’s reaction. He knew he’d fucked up, but it was just an album.  
“You know what, Jack, it’s just an album. I know it’s signed, but you can always get another off of eBay. I don’t know why it’s such a big deal,” Alex defensively shot back, feeling himself get angrier.  
“I can’t just get another online, it wouldn’t be the same,”  
“Dude, I can almost guarantee that someone is selling a copy of that album with the autographs. Just get one there, it’ll be like this never happened,”  
“No, it’s not that simple, Alex. That album means a lot to me,” Jack continued, starting to sound less mad.  
“I know it’s your favorite Blink record, but-“  
“It’s more than that, dude,”   
Alex looked to his friend, and saw a nervous look on his face, making Alex’s anger turn into curiosity.   
“What do you mean?” Alex asked, cautiously walking over to Jack’s bed, and taking a seat on it.  
“Well, it’s kind of a lot, and I’ve not really told a lot of people,”   
“You can tell me anything. Jack, I won’t’ tell anyone whatever it is, I promise,”   
Jack looked over to Alex, then quickly looked down at his broken album, before taking a deep breath.  
“Okay, well, here it goes, I guess. When I was in seventh grade, I went to a signing at that record store in the mall by your house, and got this record signed by the band. The reason it means a lot, is because that year was really hard for me,”  
“What do you mean? If you don’t mind me asking, of course,”   
“Well, I was having problems with my family, and some of the people that I was friends with at the time. It got to the point where music was the only thing that brought me joy, and that made continuing to live and carry on feel worth it. I never really planned or intended to do something stupid, but shit got really dark for me, and I started to wonder if it was all worth it. If I didn’t have much to look forward to, and I really questioned if I deserved to be here. In the height of all of those thoughts, Blink announced the signing I went to. That was one of the first things in a long time that got me to feel truly excited about life. I’d never met them, or any musician before, but I knew I had to go. When the day finally came, I brought that copy of the record, and waited in a long ass line for about three hours, before finally getting to the signing table. My time with them was very brief, but it was life changing. It helped me realize that life had moments that made it feel meaningful, and that sticking around was worth it. That’s actually why I had it hung, I wanted to physically see it when I needed that reminder,” Jack explained, too nervous to look up at his friend.   
Alex was speechless, stunned to hear all of this come from Jack, who normally seemed happy all the time.  
“Jack, man, I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” Alex eventually said, still not totally sure how to respond to Jack’s story.  
“Look, I’m sorry for flipping out on you the way that I did. I could’ve reacted n a more civil and mature way,”  
“No, don’t apologize, if I were in your position, I definitely would’ve reacted in the same way. I had no idea you felt that way back in seventh grade. I’m sorry you were in such a low place. Did you ever talk to anyone about it at the time?”  
“No, I was too afraid to. I didn’t want to be judged, or have people think that there was something wrong with me. Also, I thought I could handle all of those negative, heavy thoughts on my own. Looking back, I definitely couldn’t, but having Blink as my emotional support system did make it all the least bit easier,”   
“I knew Blink meant a lot to you, but I never knew that the reason was so deep. Jack, I’m really sorry about the record. Is there anything I can do to try and make it up to you?”  
“Well, we could stop doing homework,” Jack joked, making them both laugh some.  
“I knew you’d say that. Seriously, though, is there anything I can do to show you how insanely sorry I am?” Alex continued.   
“Nah, you don’t have to do anything. This album definitely helped me through a rough time in my life, and it’s been nice to have that extra support from the album hanging there, but this has helped me realize that I’m okay, and that maybe I don’t need to physically see it when shit happens for reassurance,” Jack explained, making both of them smile.  
“I’m glad you’re looking at it like that. By the way, I’m always here for you, even when shit hits the fan. It’s never going to just be you and your music again, I promise,”   
The two of them shared a smile before hugging each other.  
“Thanks, Alex, that really does mean a lot. Hey, do you think we could work on a song instead of homework?” Jack requested.  
“Sure thing, man. Hey, are you sure you’re going to be okay from this?”  
“Yeah, I think so. Maybe they’ll do another signing here eventually,”  
“True, or we could keep working our asses off with the band, become famous, get Blink’s number, and get a new signed album that way!” Alex exclaimed, as they started to make their way down to Jack’s basement.  
“Yeah, like that will ever happen,” Jack replied, laughing some.  
“It could! You never know!” Alex stated, as they sat down on Jack’s couch with their guitars and got to work on their next song.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, I got this idea from a prompt page, and I really love how it turned out!! Please send in requests if you have them, I'd love to write some for you all! Thank you for reading, it means the world. Lots of love, Liv.


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